LONDON: Global oil demand will grow by 1.9 million barrels per day (bpd) this year, according to a prediction by energy research company Wood Mackenzie, a forecast close to the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries’ (OPEC) estimate for 2024.

In remarks shared with delegates at a Wood Mac briefing on Wednesday during the Energy Institute conference in London, the firm’s vice president of oils research Alan Gelder predicted, like most other forecasters, that the bulk of that rise would come from China and India.

Forecasts for oil demand growth in 2024 differ dramatically.

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OPEC expects another year of relatively strong demand growth of 2.25 million bpd, while the International Energy Agency expects much slower growth of 1.22 million bpd.

Meanwhile, a wide-ranging Reuters survey showed most analysts expect global oil demand to grow by somewhere between 1 million and 1.5 million bpd in 2024.